The Invisibility of Indigenous COVID-19 Data Virtual Roundtable

Watch the video recording.

This episode of the NAJA Roundtable series will feature researchers and reporters who will share best practices when covering stories involving Indigenous data and the pandemic.

The Native American Journalists Association recognizes that media professionals are confronted with unique challenges when covering issues affecting Indigenous people and communities. The NAJA Roundtable series aims to examine the challenges and best practices for reporting these stories.

Health departments are not including Native Americans in their racial demographic data even in areas with high numbers of Native residents. The majority of Native Americans live in urban areas, with the high populations in New York City, LA, Chicago and other locations. NYC, LA nor Chicago explicitly include Native Americans in the breakdowns of their COVID-19 data. This continues the "invisibility" of these communities that were already at risk. How do journalists navigate these barriers to ensure inclusive, contextual and responsible coverage of Indigenous people and communities?

The roundtable panelists include:

• Beth Red Bird, faculty fellow at the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research and the Institute for Policy Research, and assistant professor at Northwestern University.
• Kalen Goodluck, contributing editor at High Country News covering the pandemic in Indian Country.

Moderated by Jourdan Bennett-Begaye (Diné), NAJA board member and deputy managing editor at Indian Country Today.

NAJA will host the roundtable and live Q&A at 4 pm CT/5pm ET on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, via Zoom. Participants may register in advance here. After registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with information about how to join the webinar.